My Top Five....

....Upper Body Exercises. Here are five exercises that I would make part of any individuals upper body program, assuming that there are no training limitations. In no particular order they are:

1. Chin Up
2. Inverted Row
3. Neutral Grip DB Incline Press
4. Close Grip Bench Press
5. T Push Up

Why do I like these five exercises? They are all compound exercises. They all produce a large training effect. They all maximize training efficiency. And they all have a low risk to benefit ratio.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Cable External Rotation

Struggling with your bench press numbers? Try working some external rotation work into your programming. How can this help you with your bench press? Remember, you're only as strong as your weakest link and in this case the weakest link is usually the external rotators of the shoulder. Not only will you probably break through your plateau, but your shoulders will be thanking you in the long run.

A Nice, Little Trick

Do you have an exercise that you struggle with? May be an exercise where you get to a certain number of reps and you say, "Screw it. I'm done". It may not be that you're so physically fatigued as you are mentally fatigued. I have this problem with chin ups. I feel like I've been training with chin ups for years, but I can never get past 12 reps. I get to 12 reps and everything shuts off. The 8th, 9th and 10th rep aren't so bad, but I struggle with 11 and 12.

So earlier this week I tried a little trick I had read about. Rather than starting at rep 1 and counting up to 12, I started at my goal number which was 14 and counted backwards. Bam!! 14 reps in!! I finally broke that 12 rep plateau. And it wasn't so much physical as it was mental. By counting down from 14, I had gotten myself to believe that I had 2 reps left after having done 12. A little more work remained. Mentally this didn't seem so impossible. With my old counting method, counting up, I was telling myself how much work I had already done rather than how much I had left. Much more mentally exhausting. Do I make sense? Give it a shot next time on that exercise you're struggling with. I'm sure you'll see better results.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Close Grip Bench Press

When designing a workout for a client or for myself, the first thing I think about is it's efficiency. How can I can get the biggest bang for the buck? What exercises are going to give the largest training effect? For this reason, you'll see a lot of compound movements in my workouts, whether they're for me or for someone else. Having a workout full of single joint isolation exercises is a waste of time. Rather, how can I kill two birds with one stone? This week's exercise of the week, the close grip bench press, does just that. It's a great chest exercise, while also putting a large amount of stress on the triceps. Plus, the triceps responds better to heavier loads. How much weight are you possibly going to be able to do when doing single arm dumbbell kickbacks? Not much. The pink dumbbell's only go up to about 8lbs.

As a side note, do not move your grip in too close. Back in the day, I used to place my hands only about 4-6 inches apart. My elbows and wrists didn't like that too much. I suggest about a 12-14 inch spacing between your index fingers. You know which fingers those are, right?

Question to RichRuff Training

Help me!! If I add strength training to my cardio will I lose weight or not? Because I was told that it will get tone up the fat I already have. Also what's the best way to lose 70 pounds by June 26, my 23rd birthday? Plus I'm a female, so I don't want muscle. I want to lose weight. Erika Hi Erika. A couple of things: 1)Losing weight will depend on your diet plus your cardio and strength program. If you're strength program is set up right, yes, you can lose weight. 2)You can not tone fat. You can create muscular tone. 3)Diet is going to be the critical factor in losing 70lbs. Exercise is going to be the critical factor in keeping that weight off. 4)Who cares if you're female? You do not want muscle? Do you want fat instead? So to sum it up, my advice is: Get on a well designed strength program that emphasizes moderate rep ranges and short rest intervals. Part of your cardio work should include some high intensity interval training Get your nutrition in check. Focus on whole foods, increased protein intake, lower carb intake and frequent meals or feedings. Work hard and work often. It doesn't matter what program you're on if you're not going to put the time and effort into it. Good luck.

Strengthen that grip!!

It's amazing to me when I see how weak most people's grip strength is. If your grip is weak, everything is also going to be weak. How can you move any substantial weight during a deadlift if you can barely hold onto the bar? Or how many pull ups are you going to expect to do if you're hanging by finger tips on the third rep? Some people, mostly kids and males with big egos, would go to using straps. But this is only a crutch. Now you may be be able to deadlift or do those pull ups, but your grip is still weak. Are you going to use those straps for every lift that involves grip work? I hope not. A strong grip will not only help you with certain lifts, but it will also protect your shoulder. The harder you grip something, the better your shoulder is going to stabilize itself because it is going to sense the increased tension.

Here are some exercises I'd recommend to improve grip strength and endurance:

• Hex Dumbbell Holds for time
  
• Fat Bar Holds for time (don't have a fat bar, wrap a towel around the bar)
• Plate Pinches
• Towel Chin ups
• Reverse EZ Bar Curls
• Farmers Walks

Try some of these exercises at the end of your workout if you feel you're lacking in grip strength. Remember, you're only as strong as your weakest link. Plus, I'm tired of those dead fish handshakes that still all too common.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Kneeling Cable Lift

As mentioned before, the primary role of the core musculature is core stabilization. More importantly, research has shown over the last couple of years that your core is supposed to work as an anti-rotator. It's supposed to resist lumbar rotation as force is applied to the upper or lower body. For this reason, I'll start all of my new clients out on plank work. There are so many versions of the plank to use as each previous version gets easier. But where do you go after that? Once you've been able to stabilize your core form a prone, supine or side position it's time to get up off the floor. It's time to go to a kneeling position. That's where this weeks exercise of the week comes in, the kneeling cable lift. This movement was popularized by Gray Cook and Mike Boyle. I love this movement...when done right. When it's done right you can really fell that core musculature working.

To perform:

1. Adjust a a pulley to the lowest position and attach a triceps rope.
2. Get into a tall , half-kneeling position with the inside knee in the down position, parallel to the weight stack. It's important to really fire the glute on the outside hip as this will help stabilize the hip during the movement (As a side note, I like to use an
   airex pad for the down knee. It's just a bit more comfortable).
3. Grip the rope with both hands and start with your arms in an extended position towards the pulley. The rest of your body should be facing straight ahead as much as possible.
   
4. From here, pull the rope in towards your chest, maintaining that straight ahead position. That's movement one.
5. Movement two is to extend your arms and push the rope out across the body in a diagonal pattern, trying to resist rotation around the waist. Get those arms fully extended!!
6. After a slight pause, reverse the movement by bringing your hands to your chest, then back towards the pulley. Remember, it's a sequential movement, not all in one motion. ( A picture of the finish position is below)
7. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps on one side, then switch to the other side. If you happen to have a harder time on one side, always start with that side.

Remember, you're not trying your twist your spine every which way with this movement. Once you've gotten the kneeling or half kneeling position down, then it's time to work form a standing position.

Can the crunches and start chopping and lifting.